Bowling pin resetting machine



NOV 8, 1955 E. HEDENsKooG Erm. 2,723,123

BOWLING PIN RESETTING MACHINE 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Jan. 29, 1953 Nov.8, 1955 E. HEDENsKooG ETAL 2,723,123

BOWLING PIN RESETTING MACH-INE 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 i??/J Filed Jan. 29,1953 Nov. 8, 1955 E. HEDENsKooG Erm. 2,723,123

BOWLING PIN RESETTING MACHINE Filed Jan. 29, 1953 3 Sheets-Sheet 3United States Patent Oliice 2,723,123 Patented Nov. 8, 1955 BOWLING PINRESETTING MACHINE Ernest Hedenskoog, Donald A. Norberg, and Alvin E.

Johnson, Muskegon, Mich., assiguors, by mesne assignments, to The MurrayCorporation of America, Detroit, Mich., a corporation of DelawareApplication January 29, 1953, Serial No. 333,898

12 Claims. (C1. 273-43) This invention relates to automatic pin settingmachines for bowling alleys and, more particularly, to the means forremoving the remaining upright pins after one ball has been bowled,preparatory to clearing of the deadwood.

If, after bowling of the rst ball, some but not all of the pins areknocked down, it is necessary to remove the pins that were knocked down,knownas deadwood, before the next ball is bowled. The standing pins mustbe lifted and reset in the same positions which they occupied before thedeadwood was cleared. In the bowling of the rst ball, a standing pin maybe shifted'from its normal position. Automatic pin setting machines musttherefore be capable of clearing the deadwood and leaving the uprightpins standing, in their shifted positions regardless of the positions towhich the standing e pins may have been moved. Machines have heretoforebeen made which are capable of accomplishing this result provided theupright pins have been shifted only within a certain range. One of theshortcomings of the machines of the past has been that if a standing pinhas been moved during the bowling of the rst ball an amount somewhatoutside of 'the range of the machine,

`there has often been the danger of knocking down of such pin during thedeadwood clearing operation.

It is one of the objects of the present invention to provide a machinewhich is capable of clearing deadwood even though the pins have beenshifted from their normal positions and which will not throw or displacepins which, in the previous play, have ybeen displaced beyond the range'of operation of the machine. In accordance with the principles of thepresentinvention,l a pin which has been displaced beyond the range ofthemachine will be left standing by the 'machine without danger of beingknocked down as the machine attempts the normal clearing of thedeadwood. It may interfere with the deadwood clearing operation, inwhich event this -l may be performed manually, in' the rare vinstancesof such displacement of the'pin, and. the game continuedwith the pin inexactly the position to vwhich it has been -moved' by the previousba'll. The present invention is applicable, in general, to 'automaticpin Setters of the type that provide for clearance of deadwood, theobject of the present invention being to prevent knocking over ordisplacement of standing pins regardless of the posi.

tions of thevstanding'- pins.

In the accompanying drawings, the present invention has been shown asapplied to a pin lifting .apparatus of a construction such as shown inthe Ernest Hedenskoog Patent No. 2,531,429 lalthough it is clearlyapplicable to other pin setting machines.` The machine of this patent,which has been chosen for illustrative purposes-as a typical machine towhich the present invention has been applied, includes a horizontalframe that is normally positioned above the pins and isA movable to aposition below the top of the pins and has therein a series of oversizedholes corresponding to the normal positions of the pinsvon the alley.The frame is capable the periphery of the hole in the frame.

' tially along theline 3-3 of Fig. 1 with one of lowering movement of aposition substantially below the top of standing pins, and it includes aseries of spring pressed plates, one above each hole in the frame, whichplates come to rest on standing pins and hold them firmly in placeduring the operation of the gripping means that then grips the pinspreparatory to lifting them off of the alley for the movement of asweeper between the dead wood. If the pins are shifted from their normalpositions but are still in line with the circular plates carried by theframe, the machine will operate in its normal manner.

If the pins have been shifted a slightly greater amount there is, in themachines of the past, a possibility that the standing shifted pins willbe struck by the portion of the frame which forms the periphery of theholes and that thereby the standing pins would be knocked down. It is anobject of this invention to prevent knocking down the pins by `the plateunder those conditions. This result is accomplished, in the preferredembodiment of the present invention, by providing a series of tinesaw-toothed, downwardly 'extending projections around If the pin hasbeen shifted into that critical area where' it is not engaged by thespring pressed plate carried by the framev and is engaged by the`periphery of the hole in the frame, it will be the saw teeth along theperiphery of the hole that engage the standing pin. These teeth aresufciently large that they biteinto the pin duringthe descent of theframe and, by so doing,hold the pin iirmly in place so that the pin isnot tilted and therefore notl knocked down by the descending frame. Theteeth onthe descending frame that bite into a standing pin would limitthe descent of `the frame. The mechanism then goes through its cycle ofoperations, ultimately raising the' frame to its uppermostvposition.However, in View of the fact that the frame had not descended its fullamount *asv required preliminary to clearing of dead wood, the pinsweeper of the machine is not brought into operation, so that when theplate has completed its cycle of'movement the standing pins and thedeadwood both remain inthe alley thereby indicating to the player or toan attendant that one or more pins have been shifted into'ay criticalzone and therefore the machine cannot clear the deadwood. An attendantor the player then does this manually and the game then proceeds.

VIt is a still further object of the present invention t0 provide meansfor preventing tilting or felling of lbowling pins that have beenmoved'widely from their spot positions on the alley bed, which requiresthe addition of very little t-o existing bowling pin setting machines,and

which is comparatively economical of construction and simple in itsoperation.

the present invention will be apparent from the following specificationtaken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings wherein:

Figure 1 is a side elevational view of an automatic pin setting machineembodying a preferred form of the invention with the pin settingmechanism in raised position;

Fig. 2 is an enlarged fragmentary side elevational view of a portion ofthe pin setting mechanism illustrated in Fig. 1 showing the same in anintermediate position with the parts arranged to engage standing pinsprior to a pin lifting operation; v

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary sectional view taken substanof the pins in anextreme offset position;

pin setter engages an extreme offset pin;

Fig. 5 is a broken view of the structure illustrated in Fig. 3 as viewedupwardly from the alley bed, and

Fig. 6 is a plan view of a frame member employed in connection with thepresent invention.

In all of the above-described views, similar characters of reference areemployed to designate similar parts throughout.

While there is shown in the drawings and hereinafter described in detaila preferred form of the invention, it is to be understood that theinvention is not limited to the particular form and arrangement shown.It is contemplated that various changes may be made by those skilled inthe art without departing from the spirit Vand scope of the appendedclaims.

Referring now to the drawings in detail and, in particular, to Fig. l,an alley bed 10 has a set of pins 12 positioned thereon. The alleyincludes the usual pit 14 and pit cushion 16. A conventional side guardor kick back 18 is positioned on the far side of the alley bed. The

`pin setting machine to which the pin retaining mechanism of the presentinvention is applied involves in itsV general organization a pair ofupright frame elements 20 which serve to support at their upper ends across channel 22. A pair of forwardly extending channels 24 serve tosupport a pair of vertically extending bushings 26 in which` there areslidable respective vertically extending cylindrical rods 28. The rods28 carry at their lower ends a series of pinlifting instrumentalities,the nature and function of which will be described presently.

Referring now to Figs. 2, 3 and 4, the pin setter to which the presentinvention is applied includes three horizontally extending, paralleldecks or frames A, B, and C. The frame A has rigidly attached thereto afourth and lowermost frame or deck D which constitutes a pin retainingmechanism to which the presentv invention is principally directed andthe nature and function of which will be set forth in detail after anunderstanding of the pin setter as a whole has been obtained.

The frame A is positioned intermediate the frames B and C, with theframe B mounted above and the frame C mounted below the frame A. Theframe A is iixed to the lower ends of the vertical rods 28 by means oflaterally extending lugs 30 formed on frame A and to which the lowerends of the rods are secured as by welding.

The frame A, hereinafter referred to as the pin carrier inasmuch as itsupports a set of pins while they are moved from an upper position to alower position adjacent the bed preparatory to being deposited on thelatter, consists of a rear cross bar 32 and side members 34 which extendforwardly from the rear member in parallelism a predetermined distanceand then converge toward each other at the front end of the frame wherethey are joined by a cross bar 36. The frame A is provided with a seriesof transversely extending cross plates 38, 40, 42 and 44 upon which thepins 12 are adapted to rest when the frame is away from. the alley bed.Means are provided whereby, when the frame is in its lowermost positionadjacent the alley bed, the pins carried on the cross members may bemoved forwardly off the members and onto the alley pin spots. The frameB is provided with ten relatively short tubular pin chutes 46 which areadapted to receive pins from other portions of the pin setting machineand to direct them downwardly onto the cross members 38 to 44,inclusive, of the pin carrier frame A. The frame B is a fabricatedstructure comprising a rear cross member 4S, a front cross member 50 anda pair of side members 52 which extend forwardly in parallelism fromAthe rear cross member 48 a predetermined distance and converge to jointhe front cross member 50.

The frame B is adapted to be moved from a position wherein a setof pinsrests on the cross bars 38 and 44, inclusive, of the pin carrier frame Ato a forward position wherein the pin chutes 46 are centered over thepin spots on the alley bed during which movement the pins slide o t ecross bars onto the pin spots. The frame B is supported onthe frame Afor this relative movement by a pair of links 54 and 56, the lower endsof which are pivotally connected to the frame A and the upper ends ofwhich are pivotally connected to upwardly extending brackets 57 securedto the frame B. Mounted on the frame B at positions directly above thealley pin spots when the frame B is in its rear position are a series ofcircular pinengaging pressure plates 5S. These pressure plates aresecured to the lower ends of vertical rods 60 which are slidablysupported on the frame B and have cross pins 62 at their upper ends tolimit the downward movement thereof. Coil springs 64 are positionedbetween the plates 58 and frame B and serve normally to urge the platesdownwardly from the frame. As will be more particularly set forthpresently, the plates 58 serve to engage the tops of the standing pinsand to clamp them to the alley bed while certain pin lifting memberssubsequently to be described engage the necks of the pins.

The frame C which is positioned below the pin carrier frame A and whichcarries the previously mentioned, and subsequently to be described, pinlifting device is mounted on the frame A for sliding movement in a foreand aft direction, parallel to the longitudinal axis of the alley bed.The frame C involves in the general organization a rear cross member 66,a front cross member 68 and a pair of -side members 70 which areparallel in their rear regions and which converge forwardly adjacenttheir front ends and join the front cross member 68.

A pair of brackets 72 which support rollers 74 are mounted at the rearregions of the side members 70 and the rollers are adapted to travel ona pair of short parallel rails 76 formed on the side members 34 of theframe A. The frame C additionally carries a pair of brackets 78 adjacentthe forward portion of the side members 70 which brackets in turn carryrollers 80 adapted to travel on rails 82 carried by the frame A. Therails 76 and 82 provide tracks on which the frame C is slidablysupported so that it may be shifted relative to the frame A.

The frame C as shown in Fig. 3 is comprised of a thin sheet 84 of metalor other material extending between the frame members 66, 68 and 70.This sheet or plate 84 is provided with ten openings 86 therein whichare located in the plate at positions generally corresponding to the tenpin spots on the alley bed. The rear portions 88 of the openings aresemicircular in configuration and the front side edges 90 converge fromintermediate parallel side walls 92 toward the forward end of theopenings 86. These openings are so situated in the plate 84 that whenthe frame C is in its forward or right hand position as `shown in Figs.l and 3, the semicircular rear portions 88 are coaxial or concentricwith the alley pin spots.

The previously mentioned pin lifting devices are in the form of forkedmembers one of which is positioned adjacent each aperture 86 andimmediately below the plate 84. These pin lifting members may be formedof metal or other suitable material and are generally of U- shapedconfiguration with parallel side arms 102 and divergent ends 104. Theside arms 102 are spaced apart a distance -slightly greater than thediameter of the neck of a bowling pin 12 so that the members maystraddle the neck without contacting the latter as the pin liftingrnembersare moved into straddling engagement with the neck of the pin.The bases of the pin lifting members 100 are pivotally supported on theplate 84 to swing laterally of the apertures 86. v

The tapered end of eac aperture 86 is formed with a recess 106 and anupstanding lug 108 provided at the base of the pin lifting member 100has a laterally extending portion 110 which overlies the plate 84. Acoil spring 112 anchored at one end to a post 114 mounted on the plate84 has its other end secured to a post 116 carried on the laterallyextending portion 110 of the lug. 103',

From the above description it will be seen that the inner edge of therecess 106 constitutes a. bearing edge while the lug 108 operating inthe manner of a knife edge isdrawn by the coil spring 112 against theedge of the recess in such a manner that the pin lifting device 100 as awhole is normally centered relative to the opening 86. However, when theframe C ismoved to the left as viewed in Fig. 3 so that the divergingfeeler ends 104 of the parallel arms 102 engage the neck portion of apin which has become offset with respect to its pin spot, the pinlifting device 100 will be guided in the proper direction so thattheparallel arms 102 will be eventually caused to straddle the reduced neckportion of the bowling pin. Conversely, when the frame C is moved insuch a direction so as to release the pins, the various pin liftingdevices will be restored by their respective springs 112 to their normalpositions.

The pin setting device with lwhich the present invention is associatedis provided with means for lowering the mechanism from an elevatedposition wherein it is well above the level of the tops of any pins thatmay be standing on the alley bed to a position wherein it may either seta new set of pins on the alley bed or lift existing standing pins. Meansare provided for shifting the upper pin setting frame B and the lowerpin setting frame C relative to the frame A. The means for lowering orraising the pin setting mechanism includes a pair of verticallyextending rods 120 (Figs. l and 2) which are pivotally connected at thelower ends to the frame A by means of pins 122 and are pivotallyconnected at their upper ends to actuating arms 124 by pins 126. Thearms 124 are carried at the opposite ends of a horizontal shaft 128which is adapted to be periodically driven in opposite directions bysuitable mechanism (not shown) according to the cyclic phase of machineoperations. The mechanism engages and operates the ann 129 which issecured to the shaft 128. The arm 129 is moved by the mechanism to lowerthe frame to pin pickup or to pin setting positions.

t The operating mechanism for the frame B includes a link 130 pivotallyconnected at one end to. a lug 132 on the rear cross-member 48 of theframe B and at the other end to one arm 134 of a bell crank lever 136having a -second arm 138 pivoted to a lug 140 mounted on the crossmember 32 of the frame A. A third arm 142 of the bell crank lever 136 ispivotally connected to a yoke 144 carriecl by an operating rod 146.Movement of the rod upwardly as viewed in Fig. 2 causes the bell cranklever 136 to turn in a clockwise direction about its pivotal axis n thelug 140 and thus cause the link 130 to the shift the frame B forwardlyof the frame A a suicient distance t0 move the pins which may be carriedwithin the chutes 46, and standing on the cross plates 38, 40, 42 and44, off

of these plates and onto the alley pin spots. Suitable t mechanism (notshown) is provided for actuating the rod 146 according to the intendedcyclic operation of the machine when the pin setting frames are in theirlowered positions adjacent the alley bed.

The means for shifting'the frame C relative to the frame A comprises abell crank lever 150 mounted on a pivot pin 152 secured in an upstandingbracket 154 mounted on the rear cross member 32 of the frame A. Adownwardly extending arm 156 of the bell crank lever 150 is formed witha slot 158 therein. A pin 160 carried on a bracket 162 projectingrearwardly from the cross member 66 of the frame C extends through theslot 158. A horizontal extending arm.164 of the bell crank lever 150 ispivotally connected by a pin 166 to the lower end of an actuating bar168 adapted to be suitably actuated according to the cycle of machineoperations in order to shift the frame C relative to the frame A andthus bring the pin lifting devices 100 into proper registry with therespective pins which they mayengage for lifting purposes.

In the operationof the apparatus with the pin setter in its raisedposition and with a pin contained within each of the chutes 46 andstanding on the cross plates 34 to 38y inclusive `of the frame A, thepin setter is lowered toward thelalley bed to a position of closeproximity with respect thereto. This lowering movement is accomplishedby means of the arms 124 and rods 120. When the pin setterreachesits-,lowered position, the rod 146 is raised to shift the frame Bforwardly and move the pins off the cross plates and onto the alley pinspots. With the frames B and C remaining in their forward positions, thepin setter is then raised by movement of the arms 124 to their elevatedposition wherein the entire apparatus clears the pins which have beendeposited on the alley bed. During such elevation of the pin setter, theframe B is restored to its original position.

At this point, the alley is then ready for play and preferably a. newset of pins is fed into the chutes 46. If it is assumed that uponrolling of the first ball some of the pins remain standing While othersare knocked down and still others are shifted from their positions onthe pin spots a slight distance, the pin setter operating mechanism mayagain be placed in operation and the pin setter will be moved downwardlyand function in such a manner that it may pick up such pins as mayremain standing. Thus, the pin setter is again lowered by means of thearms 124 and rods 120 until such time as the spring pressed plates 58engage the tops'of the standing pins. lAs soon as the standing pins areclamped to the alley bed, the pin setter frame C is moved toward theleft from the position shown in Fig. 3, thus causing the forked liftingmembers to engage the necks of the standing pins, although grippingcontact with the pins is not effected until the frames are raised. Thedivergent feeler ends 104 of the lifting membersvfunction during thismovement to guide the arms -102 to their proper pin-straddlingpositions. Thus as a pin has been moved a slight distance from its alleybed spot, the lifting member is swung on its pivotal axis to a positionwherein the neck of the pin may enter between the arms 102. When theframe C has been moved -to its rearmost position, the pin setter israised to bring the members 100 into gripping engagement with the pinsand lift them while the dead wood is swept from the alley by anysuitable means such, for example, as the usual sweep board 170. Duringthe lifting of the pins, they are firmly held in position immediatelyabove the spots where they were found on the alley bed, by the downwardpressure exerted by the plates 58 on the heads of the pins which forcethe underneath tapered surfaces thereof against the parallel arms 102 ofthe respective lifting members 100.

After the sweeping operation is completed, the pin setter is againlowered and the pins are returned to the alley bed in the position whichthey formerly occupied. The pinsV are thus again held clamped to thealley bed by the springy pressed plates 58, and downward movement of theframe C releases the pressure on the underneath tapered surfaces of thepin heads. The frame C is shifted to the right to the position shown inFig. 3 to withdraw the lifting members from the necks of the pins, andthereafter the pin setter is raised leaving the pinsstanding on thealley bed in the exact -positions where theywere -found prior to thelifting operation. I

According to the present invention, means are provided whereby theplacement of all pins which remain standing after the first ball of aframe has been rolled, regardless ofthe positions of the pins onthealley bed, will be accurately preserved. Accordingly, the frame D(Figs. l, 2

and 4) is provided. This frame is in the-form of a flat plate 200 havinga rear downturned `flange 202, and side flanges 204 which are parallelin the medial regions of the flange and which converge toward each otherin the forf The frame D is suspendedA ward regions of the plane. belowthe level of the three frames A; B and C by suspension brackets 210 and212, which'are secured to the side members 34 of the -frame A.' Stopelements;206` are secured to the under side of the .frame D. 4The plate200.

occupies a position a slight distance below the -frame C. The plate 200is provided with a series of ten circular openings 214 therein which aresubstantially concentric with the vertical projections of the pin spotson the alley bed. Thel diameters of the openings 214 are substantiallyin excess ofthe diameters of the pressure plates 58 and` are preferablyslightly greater than the maximum transverse width of the openings 86provided in the plate 84 of the frame C. Each opening 214 is surroundedby a downwardly extending flange or ring 216 the lower edge of which isformed with means which upon engagement with the head of the bowling pinis adapted to bite into the material of the pin and thus hold the ringagainst further descent without tilting the pin and without in any waytending to upset the pin. This means may be a knife edge, but in thepreferred embodiment illustrated here, coinprises a series of relativelysharp downwardly extending, closely spaced pin-engaging teeth 218. Thering members 216 may be` a ange struck from the edges of the openings214 or they maybe separate hardened steel bands suitably secured, as bywelding, to the underneath surface of the plate 200 and surrounding thevarious openings 214. Such bands could be constructed from band sawblades shaped as a cylinder with the ends abutted and welded together.

Reference to Fig. 2 will disclose the fact that the diameters of thetoothed rings 216 are substantially greater than the maximuml diameterof one of the pins 12 and thus, immediately after pin settingoperations, the pin setter frames including the frame D may be elevatedin the usual manner and the various pins 12 which are all centered onthe pin spots will not be disturbed by the toothed rings 216 which areeach4 centered with respect to a pin axis.

The difference between the radius of the ring 216 and the radius of itspressure plate 58 is less than the radius of the head of a pin 12. Bythus selecting the proper diameter for the toothed ring 216, any pin 12which upon dislodgment thereof after the first ball ofl aframe has beenrolled, fails to have its vertical axis fall within the verticalcontines of the pressure plate 58, within certain limits, will beengaged by one or more of the teeth 218 formed on the ring 216 and willthus be clamped firmly against the alley bed so that its position willbe preserved. The teeth 218 will penetrate or bite into the wood of thehead of the pin 12 even though the teeth may engage the head at aposition which is widely offset with respect to the axis of the pin andthus the pin will be held against tilting movement on the alley bed. ItwillV bev understood that such pins as have been moved from their spotpositions wherein they are engaged bythe toothed ring upon descent ofthe pin setter will prevent further downward movement of the pin setteralthough the operating mechanism whereby the pin setter is controlledwill continue to go through its cycle without function until such timeas the partially descended pin setter is again picked up, so to speak,by the operating mechanism and restored to its elevated position. Insuch an instance the cyclic sequence of events following the initialarresting of the pin setter in its downward movement will not take placeand the frame C will not be moved relative to the frames A and B so thatno pins will be engaged by the pin lifting devices 108 and no pins willbe elevated with the frame as it rises to release the clamped pin orpins. In such an instance none of the pins, including the obstructingpin or pins, will have been disturbed, or moved from the positionsIwhich they occupied on the alley bed at the time obstruction of themovement of the pin setter took place. Any dead wood existing on thealley bed in the vicinity of the pins will be removed manually prior torolling of the. second ball of the frame since the pin sweep will belocked out from operating.

When a standing pin 12 has its vertical axis located just within. theconfines of thepressure plate 58, it will be. engaged by the pressureplate in the normal manner of operationof the machine and the'toothedring 216 will clear the side of the head of the pin. When a standing pinhas its vertical axis located just outside the vertical connes of thetoothed ring 216, it will be engaged by one or more ofthe teeth 218provided on the ring 216..

Because of the shallowness of the ring 216, the teeth 218 do not projectdownwardly from the plate 2.80l a very great distance and, because ofthe fact that the sides of a pin slope sharply away from the top of thepin, there is a narrow band or region on the alley bed just outside of'the ring 216 wherein a standing pin having its axis falling thereon willbe engaged by the teeth 218 of the ring. Any pin falling outside of theregion aord'ed will not be engaged by the teethv 218 of the ring butinstead will be engaged by the underneath face of the plate 290. in suchan instance descent of the pin setter will bring. the plate 200 intoengagement with the extreme top of the pin head so that the pin will befirmly clamped to the alley bed and further movement of the pin setterdown.- wardly will be obstructed. Upon subsequent elevation of thecarriage at the proper time in the machine cycle the pin will bereleased on the off spot position.

It will be understood that the elevation or height of the frame D, abovethe alley bed, and consequently the height of the pin setter as a wholeat the time when the teeth thereof engage a particular pin will dependupon the region of the pin head engaged by the teeth. If the pin head isengaged by the teeth 218 squarely at the extreme top of the head, thecarriage will be arrested in its downward movement and will remain at anelevation which is slightly higher than would be the case if the pinhead were engaged at an eccentric point adjacent the side of the pinhead. This is due to the fact that the top of the pin head stopsdownwardly and outwardly in all directions. Since all of the toothedrings 216 assume the same elevation, and since all of the pins 12 are ofequal height and of identical configuration, it will be obvious that inpractically all instances only one pin head will be engaged by the teethof its respective ring 216 during descent of the pin setter. In otherwords, the pin which presents the tallest obstruction to downwardmovement of the pin setter will prevail over any other offset pins whichmight otherwise be in a position to engage the teeth 218 of theirrespective rings in the absence of the first pin. Therefore, uponinitial engagement of any particular pin by the teeth of its respectivering 216, further contact between any portion of the carriage and anyother standing pin on the alley will be precluded. Since the engaged pinwill have its position preserved and since the other pins will not bedisturbed by contact with any portion of the carriage, the position ofal1 of the standing pins will be maintained after the carriage has beenraised.

An extremely rare condition may obtain wherein a particular standing pinis dislodged or offset from the alley spot to such an extent that itsrespective ring, upon descent of the frame D, will engage the head ofthe pin at a region near the extreme side of the pin wherein theangularity between the teeth 218 and the surface of the head of the pinis so small that the points of the teeth cannot penetrate the wood ofthe pin. In such an instance the pin will be tilted or rocked to a veryslight degree with the ring 216 barely touching the pin. As the ringpasses downwardly along the side of the pin, the upper endy of the pinis shortly thereafter engaged by the underneath surface of the plate 200and the pin, in its slightly tilted position, will be clamped to thealley bed'. Upon subsequent elevation of the pin setter and releasel ofthe pin by the frame plate 200, the pin will, due to its stableequilibrium, fall or rock back toits original position on the alley bed.

The stopping of the frames in their downward movement in the differentpositions either by the engagement of the pressure plates 58, the teeth218 or the plate 200 also stops the movement of the arm 129 in differentan gular positions and thereby controls the operating mechanism for thearm and the resulting cycle of operation of the machine as explained inthe copending application of E. Hedenskoog et al., Serial No. 372,366,filed August 4,y 1953, for Completely Automatic Pin Setting and BallReturn Mechanism for Bowling Alley.

What is claimed is:

1. In a pin handling mechanism, in combination, a vertically movablefirst frame, means for supporting said frame above the rear end of abowling alley bed, a plurality of yieldable clamping elements mounted onsaid frame and positioned directly abovethe alley bed pin spots, saidelements being adapted to engage the tops of the heads of standing pinsand to clamp the pins to the alley bed when the frame is lowered, asecond frame below said first frame having openings therein aligned withsaid clamping elements, pin head biting means about the edge of saidopenings located beyond the horizontal range of the clamping elementswhich the respective opening underlies, and means for lowering saidframes in unison.

2. In a pin handling mechanism, in combination, a vertically movable rstframe, means for supporting said frame above the rear end of a bowlingalley bed, a plurality of circular spring-pressed clamping plates onsaid frame positioned directly above the alley pin spots, said platesbeing adapted to engage the tops of the heads of standing pins and toclamp the pins to the alley bed when the frame is lowered, a secondframe below said rst frame having circular openings the edges of whichhave biting means which bite into the head of an oifspot pin alignedwith the edge of an opening to stop the descent of the frame and preventthe pin from being knocked down by the edge.

3. In a pin handling mechanism, in combination, a vertically movablefirst frame, means for supporting said frame above the rear end of abowling alley bed, a plurality of circular spring-pressed clampingplates on 'said frame and positioned directly above the alley pin spots,said plates being adapted to engage the tops of the heads of standingpins to clamp the pins to the alley bed when the frame is lowered, asecond frame below said first frame, said second frame comprising asubstantially at horizontally disposed sheet of metal having a series ofcircular openings likewise positioned directly above the alley pin spotsand underlying said plates, biting means about the edge of each saidopening, the diameter of each opening being greater than the diameter ofits respective clamping plate, and means for lowering said frames.

4. In a pin handling mechanism, in combination, a vertically movable rstframe, means for supporting said frame above the rear end of a bowlingalley bed, a plurality of circular spring-pressed clamping plates onsaid frame and positioned directly above the alley pin spots, saidplates being adapted to engage the tops of the heads of standing pinsand to clamp the pins to the alley bed when the frame is lowered, asecond frame below said first frame, said second frame comprising asub-7- stantially flat horizontally disposed sheet of metal having aseries of circular openings likewise positioned directly above the alleypin spots and underlying said plates, a downwardly projecting annularpin-engaging flange surrounding each opening the free edge of which iscapable of biting into the head portion of the pin when alignedtherewith, and means for lowering said frames.

5. In a pin handling mechanism, in combination, a vertically movable rstframe, means for supporting said frame above the rear end of a bowlingalley bed, a plurality of circular spring-pressed clamping plates onsaid frame and positioned directly above the alley pin spots, saidplates being adapted to engage the tops of the heads of standing pinsand to clamp the pins to the alley bed when the frame is lowered, asecond frame below said first frame, said second frame comprising asubstantially flat horizontally disposed sheet of metal having a seriesof circular openings likewise positioned directly above the alley pinspots and underlying said plates, and means surrounding each opening forengaging the top of the head of a standing pin when moved from 4spotposition and to bite into said head and clamp the' pin to the alley bedand prevent it from being tilted by the edge portion of said openingwhen the second framel is lowered.

6. In a pinhandling mechanism, in combination, a vertically movablefirst frame, means for supporting said frame above the rear end of abowling'alley bed, a plurality of circular spring-pressed clampingplates on said frame and positioned directly above the alley pin spots,said plates being adapted to engage the tops of the heads of standingpins and to clamp the pins to the alley bed when the frame is lowered, asecond frame below said first frame, said second frame comprising asubstantially flat horizontally disposed sheet 'of metal having a seriesof circular openings likewise positioned directly above the alley pinspots and underlying said plates, the difference between the radius ofeach clamping plate and the radius of the opening which it overliesbeing less than the maximum radius of the head 0f a pin, a downwardlyprojecting biting means surrounding each opening, and means for loweringsaid frames.

7. ln a pin handling mechanism, in combination, a vertically movablefirst frame, means for supporting said frame above the rear end of abowling alley bed, a plurality of circular spring-pressed clampingplates on said frame and positioned directly above the alley pin spots,said plates being adapted to engage the tops of the heads ot' standingpins to clamp the pins to the alley bed when the frame is lowered, asecond frame below said rst frame, said second frame comprising asubstantially flat horizontally disposed sheet of metal having a seriesof circular openings larger than said plates likewise positioneddirectly above the alley pin spots and underlying said plates, thedifference' between the radius of each clamping plate and the radius ofthe opening which it overlies being less than the maximum radius of ahead of a pin, a series of relatively short downwardly projectingclosely spaced circumferentially extending pointed projectionssurrounding each opening and designed to bite into the head of a pinwhen said second frame is lowered, and means for lowering said frames.

8. In a pin handling mechanism for standard bowling pins, incombination, a vertically movable first frame, means for supporting saidframe above the rear end of a bowling alley bed, a plurality of circularspring-pressed clamping plates on said frame positioned directly abovethe alley pin spots, the diameter of each clamping plate beingsubstantially greater than the major diameter of the pin, said platesbeing adapted to engage the tops of the heads of standing pins to clampthe pins to the alley bed when the frame is lowered, a second framebelow said rst frame, said second frame comprising a substantially athorizontally disposed sheet of metal having a series of circularopenings likewise positioned directly above the alley pin spots andunderlying said plates, the diameter of each opening being greater thanthat of the plate, a series of circumferentially spaced saw teethextending downwardly from the edge of each opening in position to biteinto the head portion of off-spot standing pins aligned therewith forarresting the downward movement of the frames, and means for loweringsaid frames.

9. In a pin handling mechanism, vertically movable horizontally disposedframe means supported near the rear end of an alley bed above the spotsthereon, means on said frame means for setting pins on the spots of saidalley, means on said frame means for grasping standing pins after aspare has been made to have the pins raise and lower with the frame, aplate supported on the bottom of said frame means having circularopenings therein aligned with the spots on the alley bed, and bitingmeans adjacent to the edges of said circular openings which engage thehead portion of a pin when aligned with the edge of an opening in suchsecuring manner as to arrest the descent'of the frame means and preventthe pin from being tilted or knocked down.

10. A pin handling mechanism as recited in claim 9, wherein said bitingmeans embodies a plurality of adjacent teeth on an annularly disposedange about said opening which are capable of biting into the top portionof a pin.

11. A, pin handling mechanism as recited in claim 9, wherein saidbitingmeans comprises a plurality of closely adjacent downwardly extendingteeth capable of biting into the top portion ofthe pin.

12. A pin handling mechanism las recited in claim 9, including means forraising and lowering said frame means, and means for actuating saidraising and lowering means for lowering said frame means a greaterdistance in the absence of standing pins on the alley bed, a less 12distance when standing pins pass through the circular openings in saidplate without interfering with the stopping of the frame means and astill lesser distance when the biting means engage the top portion of apin and bite thereinto,

References Cited in the tile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS2,231,842 Rundell Feb. 11, 1941 2,283,613 Schmidt May 19, 1942 2,530,385Frye Nov. 21, 1950 2,531,429 Hedenskoog Nov. 28, 1950 2,611,611Patterson Sept. 23, 1952

